Hat-baking oven.



G. F. BENNETT.

HAT BAKING OVEN. APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 17,1909.

Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

, INVE'NTOR Chas. FBemzeZl WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY CHARLES BENNETT, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

HAT-BAKING OVEN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. '7, race.

Application filed March 17, 1909. Serial No. 484,020.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. BENNETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hat-Baking Ovens; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain improvements in hat baking ovens, and has for its object to provide an oven of this description I which shall be surrounded by steam inclosing walls and in which a steam inclosing partition shall separate the. oven into two compartments each compartment being accessible from opposite sides of the oven, the partition compartment being so arranged and supported that there can be no danger of the straining of any of the steam inclosing elements by the inequalities of expansion and contraction.

With these ends in view my invention consists in the details of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and then particularly pointed out in the claims which conclude this description.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improvement' Fig. 2 a section at the line 00, w, of Fig. 3, and Fig. 3 a section at the line y, y, of Fig.2. Similar numbers of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

Heretofore, in hat baking ovens, steam inclosing spaces have been provided for furnishing the proper degree of heat, and also the oven has been divided into compartments by steam inclosing walls, but since the steam inclosing frame whichsurrounds the oven is exposed to the external atmosphere,-whereas the steam inclosing partition is internal of the oven, the inequalities in expansion and contraction have strained the steam inclosing elements to the extent that they would leak steam thereby either ruining the hats or causingthem to be depreciated to the extent thatthey are marketed as seconds.

My improvement obviates these defects and will be readily understood from the following description p t The surrounding side walls of my im- 5 proved oven are composed of two concentric metal walls 1, 2, separated by a space 3 and retained in position by means of suitable rivets or bolted extending through said walls. The steam inclosing partition is composed of two parallel walls 5, 6, united at their peripheries by welding and held in position as against collapsing by means of suitable rivets 7 extending th'rough said walls. Instead of expanding these walls 5, 6, directly into the inner surrounding wall 2, or else securing the ends of these walls directly and immediately to said side wall, I employ angle brackets 8 whose extremities are secured respectively to the inclosing walls 1, 2, and the walls 5, 6, of the inner partition, so that the latter will be in effect suspended'within the drum without any direct connection with the surrounding walls. The oven is provided with shelves 9 on which the hats are placed for the purposes of baking, and any suitable doors 10 are arranged in the ends a, b, of the oven whereby access is given to the latter.

11 is the steam inlet pipe which communicates through the side extension 12 with the surrounding steam inclosing space that is formed by the walls 1, 2. e

13 is a pipe extending from said steam in let and communicating with the steam inclosing space formed by the partition walls 1 1, 15, are extension pipes which lead from the steam inclosing partition and the steam inclosing drum respectively and communicate with the exhaust pipe 16. It will there fore be clearly understood that the space inclosed by the surrounding walls and by the internal partition are in the same steam circuit.

W'hen the oven is heated and subsequently cooled the internal partition can never exert any strainagainst the surrounding walls owing to the inequalities of expansion and con traction, but such inequalities will be taken up by the brackets 8 and will have no appreciable elfect upon the walls 1, 2.

By the use of my improvement there is no likelihood of steam leakage such as would affect the hats in the oven, and no especial care need be taken in the heating and cooling of the oven.

Having thus described my improvement what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. A hat baking oven, comprising surrounding steam inclosing walls, end caps cured to said walls, a steam inclosing particontact with said walls, means for providing said partition and waiis with inlet and outlet for steam, shelves Within the oven, and doors within said end caps whereby access is had to the oven.

2. A hat baking oven, comprising a surrounding steam inclosing drum, a steam inclosing partition within said oven and having no contact with said drum, brackets seciiied to said partition whereby the former is held in position, caps secured to opposite ends of said drum and provided with doors, shelves Within said oven on opposite sides of said partition, and steam inlet and exhaust 15 pipes communicating with said drum and partition. I

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES E. BENNETT.

Witnesses W. SMITH, J12, M. T. LONGDEN. 

